On politics in the Golden State

Whitman says GOP turnout will propel her to victory

November 1, 2010 | 2:49
pm

Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman rallied her volunteers Monday, saying that their efforts would push her to victory on election day.

“So are you ready to get California moving again? I’m ready, are you?” she told volunteers gathered at a phone bank in a Woodland Hills strip mall. “This is exciting and I want to thank you for everything you are doing. Whose hands is this election in? Yours. ... We are going to win this because we’re going to turn out the vote.”

Whitman, accompanied by state treasurer candidate Mimi Walters and controller candidate Tony Strickland, dismissed pundits and polls that show rival Jerry Brown edging her. She said there would be “some surprised folks” after the ballots are tallied.

“I’m going to win, Carly’s going to win, and the entire down ticket is going to win,” she said.

Whitman said more than 40,000 volunteers had already made millions of phone calls.

“So again, thank you for what you have done for me, for California, for the rest of the ticket,” she said. “You have made an enormous difference because how are elections won? They are won by people filling out absentee ballots for you and going to the polls.”

After leading the crowd in chants of “We are ready!” the candidate placed six phone calls to voters. Whitman mostly left voicemail messages that reminded voters about their polling places, but she did surprise one voter.

When he told her he had not yet made up his mind, she asked what his most pressing issue was. He replied education.

“We’ve got to fix it and we have to get more money to the classroom,” she said, before reciting her education plan, which includes increasing the number of charter schools and increasing the high school graduation rate.